Aside from the other slight annoyances from the "upgrade"?
Summary: Google is preparing a fix for a battery depleting bug in the camera software on Android 4.4.2 devices, and in the mean time one way to stop the issue is to uninstall Skype.
If you've noticed that your smartphone has been suffering battery woes since upgrading to KitKat, you're not alone.
A bug in a background program that controls KitKat devices' cameras, known as 'mm-qcamera-daemon', looks to be behind a spate of Android 4.4.2-powered hardware rapidly losing power or overheating.
Over the past week, hundreds of Nexus 5 and other Android device owners have reported on the Android Open Source Project's Issue Tracker that the software recently started consuming as much as half of a device's battery, and in some cases also causing overheating.
Google has, in the past 48 hours, confirmed that it had identified the relevant bugs behind the problem and will issue a fix for them in a maintenance update for its own Nexus line of devices. However, it hasn't said when that will be released, and also advised owners of non-Nexus Android devices affected by the bug to contact their hardware manufacturer for a fix.
"High power drain on non-Nexus devices is not something we can help with. If you have a Note, or any other non-Nexus device, you'll have to reach out to your manufacturer," a Google AOSP project member wrote.
Some Samsung Galaxy Note 3 owners running Android 4.3 also complained of similar battery draining issues caused by the daemon.
http://www.zdnet.com/kitkat-giving-you-battery-drain-problems-try-uninstalling-skype-says-google-as-it-prepares-a-fix-7000027051/
Yes! I have the Note 3 and battery life is now 3 hours.
I'm glad it's not just me. From about 7:30 AM to noon I was at 63%. Prior to the update I would have still been in the mid 80's with heavy use. I may have to root the damn thing to get a decent ROM now. I hate the though of having to do that though. But since this device will probably never get Lollypop it probably won't matter.
I am running in Safe Mode for the last 30 minutes, and my battery is stable, so I am thinking to do a factory reset...
Seems the same to me. My phone (Droid Razr Maxx HD) sat idle, with WiFi off, for the past 16 hours and when I woke it up it was down to 64%. When I set it down last night, it was at 100% after just coming off the charger, which was connected during the entire upgrade to 4.4.2 and for an hour or so after while I played with it (I miss bluetooth!). If I turn WiFi on and don't touch it, power goes down about 10% per hour. I always thought that sucked for a supposedly long life phone, but Verizon told me it was typical when I complained.
I'll edit my original post to mention that this issue is on the Galaxy Note 3.
No I won't. No edit button.
Anyway, I'll do the factory reset before I do anything drastic. But I am disappointed that I'd even have to do THAT after an update. This is my first Android update experience with a Samsung smartphone.
And @nurbles, I'm not surprised to hear that you haven't had any issues. I never had any update disappointments with Moto either. They have a GREAT development team over there! (which has hopefully stayed intact during the hand-off from Moto to Google to Lenovo) They just didn't offer anything in the phablet class or I never would have tried another product.
There is a five minutes window for editing posts.
Good to know, thank you Ann154!
A lot of us have this issue. It is not limited to Samsung. I have the LGG2 and used to not have to charge my battery during the day (take it off the charger at 4 AM and put it back on the charger at 10 PM with around 40% on the battery) ... now 4 - 5 hours into my day I am charging.
The last time this happened to me, with this same phone, and because of an update like this, I had to do a factory update in order to get things back to "normal" again.
This time I'm trying not to, but I don't know that I'll succeed. I have gone through every setting and every app's setting that I have installed and turned on. Especially those that are turned on at start up, and turned off all those I don't know about, which is most of them really. So we will see what happens with this round of app play.
Battery life and an OS update? What you are noticing here is the following.
Normally after an update (and based on human nature) you will have a shortened battery life as you are constantly exploring to see if something is working or what has changed etc... the extra use = used battery time.
The second and more important thing you will notice is, new android OS updates (I am talking about an actual OS change here like from JB to KK) will cause the new OS to go into Optimization mode so it can optimize all of the items on your phone to better work with the OS. It optimized photos, data, documents, music and apps. The amount of time it takes to optimize is strictly based on how much stuff you have on the device as well as the device manufacturers and how they tweaked the optimization methods. Then the OS try's to optimize how the apps work on the device.
The Optimization can take anywhere from a few hours to 2 weeks depending on how much stuff you have on your device.
Wow you're good at making junk up...
Not made up at all. It has been this way since ICS
can you provide any links to any documentation that actually shows that Android does active optimization over weeks of time after the initial upgrade?
I have 2 Droid RAZR HD devices and both of them have horrible battery life since the 4.4.2 update. They are spending very little time in 4G, so I suspect that the drain is at least partially related to the device trying to stay connected to the network. One of the two devices is hot all of the time two. Any suggestions?
Yesterday my Droid DNA went from the using 3 - 5% battery per hour under normal usage conditions to using about 15% per hour with little to no usage. I updated last week but haven't had issues until yesterday. I don't seem to have a Wakelock issue but my power is draining out with seemiingly no reason. I've experienced similar battery issues (usually with Wakelocks) and a restart usually resolves it. No so this time. Anyone have any ideas?
Same here!
Yeah, problems here too!
Battery is draining extremely fast.
Text Messages not being sent out or received.
Freezing when texting.
Extra data is being used when not wanting to
Isis Wallet was installed onto my phone with the update, which was not wanted/needed!
Went to story they restarted the phone said they couldn't fix it.
Called Tech Support, they told me the only solution was to do a master reset! NO WAY!
My phone was working completely fine until this update. I told them that was not a good solution to fix this issue, as my mother had a Droid and is having the same issues. WHY?
Dad's phone which is a LG shuts off completely with a full charge.
Not a happy camper. I pay enough money each month for my phone. I want a solution to my issue without having to lose everything on my phone.
It's not just Samsung phones, my mother has a Droid and it's doing the same thing.
Tech told me that I had to do a master rest, I refuse. They did this, now they are going to fix it!
My phone isn't eveni a year old. There is no reason for the batter life to be doing this.
I don't think it's the update, I think they did something to the network. I have a samsung which I did do the update and the battery is draining very fast...My mother has a Droid, didn't do the update and her battery is doing the same thing. I called the tech for help and they are telling me to do a master reset. Which in my opinion is crap because it's not just my phone. Many other friends/family members are having issues with their phones since this weekend. I told tech that it was a poor solution for the fix. They need to send another update out and fix the issue pronto.
You do not need to do a Factory reset on most things and it is one tool the Verizon tech will use to get you off the phone. Any time someone recommends an FDR you should always do a cache wipe first as it will usually cur 95% of the issues out there and you will lose no data or settings.
New procedure under Kitkat:
8. The device will then perform the partition wipe, AUTOMATICALLY REBOOT, and start the normal power up sequence.
@nurbles this is not normal!!! When I called about it they told me that it must've had something to do with the update. But on the same note they had NO current cure so right now we're screwed! I got this phone because of the battery life. the battery lasted almost 50 hours at one point. Since the update I'm lucky I can get 5 hours out of it and it gets hot. Keep on them!
Jakeman1, what does this procedure do? I'm not getting the same window that you are getting
How much have you played with your phone since the update? How much exploring have you done? Did you bother to disable any of the new apps they put on the phone that are battery hogs? Did you go back and disable the apps you had disabled prior to the update? I installed the update on both of my Razr HD's and my Razr Maxx HD which I was getting 2-3 days of battery on the Razr HD's and almost 5 days on the Maxx. After the update I was getting barely 1 day on the Razr HD and 2.5 days on the Maxx. Today some 5 days later I am getting 2.5 days on the HD and 4 days on the Maxx. I disabled these apps right after the update itself.
You can continue to call Verizon and at best they are going to tell you one of 2 things. Do a Factory Data Reset, or it I s a manufacturers issue and to call the manufacturer for a resolution. Depending on the manufacturer they will either tell you this same thing I have posted here, or they will tell you there is an issue with their particular build and they are working on an update to correct. Don't do the FDR. It is possible that some manufacturers during their tweak did impose some bugs and they would be working on fixing them.
Either way Verizon will do NOTHING about it by posting anything here as this is a peer to peer forum where other users try to help with issues they have experienced and what resolved them. I have been part of the Google test team as well as in Soak Tests and this same issue came up when ICS was introduced, as well as when JellyBean was introduced and now with KitKat, and each time the Google Developers stated the same as I have stated above.
You don't notice this when you first get the phone as you have nothing as a baseline and it slowly gets better over time. Then when an OS update is introduced, it slows down again temporarily and you notice the difference.
Jakeman1 I never disabled any of the apps when I 1st got the phone back in Dec. From the gate I used as normal and it worked like a champ. Both My GF and I have the same phone and we're both having the same problem. I did notice that a couple of new apps were installed on the phone. At the risk of sounding like an idiot....how do you disable an app that you don't want to use?
I learned thru sprint that I will never do a factory reset. It's a waist of time and it fixes nothing. That is the standard fix all answer that ALL companies give to be done with you and move on to the next customer.
I definitely understand the aggravation behind a full reset powell7777! However, this is the best recommendation to resolve the current issue. Sometimes a full reset is needed after any OS updates. Please keep us posted once this recommendation is completed. Have a great evening!MatthewS_VZWFollow us on Twitter @VZWSUPPORT
Have you documented a SINGLE CASE of making someone hard reset their phone that has battery or 4G connectivity issues directly related to the KitKat 4.4.2 update and that actually solves the problem? I'm betting NO. Because that is not a solution to a problem clearly caused by the software update. Using the same software on seemingly perfectly good hardware will not accomplish anything. NEXT? How about some real support? Document the cases of people complaining that this update has severely crippled their phones which were perfectly fine before, and come up with actual ideas or solutions
Here was my response to Samsung ... which applies equally well to VZW!
1st issue: customer focus needs work -- you make me fill out a complete support form again even thought I''m replying to your reply to my initial email. My name, email, and phone have not changed since my initial email. The link should take me to a form where all my previous information is already populated. 2nd issue: More lack of customer focus -- Verizon Wireless asks if I''ve contacted Samsung and you ask if I contacted my service provider. From the VZW support blog, I''m not the only one experiencing this run-around. Maybe it is time to explore the Apple Experience? Issue 3: Suggesting I contact my insurance carrier only adds to the "not our fault" tone of your response. I contacted you for a legitimate problem with a Samsung device that is less than two years old, and with a problem that is clearly linked to a recent "upgrade" to the operating system. My insurance company has nothing to do with this. Issue 4: Back to the main problem. No the humidity indicators in the phone are still white background with purple x''s, so moisture is not a problem. The problem remains that the Samsung device has a critical failure -- won''t recharge even with the Samsung charger -- after an update to the operating system. I''ve already lost a day doing the hard reset and subsequent "recovery/restore" all my apps and settings. Your suggestion is that I lose a full week more to ship it to you and await possible replacement. I was considering an S5 when my next upgrade date comes, but based on the response I''ve had from Samsung and Verizon, I'm reconsidering that. I wouldn't have this problem if I walked into an Apple store. I hope you can offer a better solution. At this point I am seriously disappointed in Samsung''s and Verizon''s responses and am ready to make a change where my problems won''t get finger-pointing as a response.
I am having same problems. Have done all of the steps advised by Verizon as well as a helpful series of steps on the Phandroid forum ultimately ending with a Factory Data Reset on Sunday. The upgrade is broken and there is no way of reverting short of rooting the phone (which my company will not allow). Jakeman, I have no idea why you keep pushing back on these people who say it is broken, but you are certainly wrong. Happy that you have figured out some secret sauce that savd you from the problems - curious, are you even using a Samsung GS4? PS, if anyone else is interested, here is a "Dummies Guide" for post upgrade problems - didn't work for me but maybe the rest of you will have some luck. http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/836936-update-problems-dummies-guide.html
Yes, I was losing battery with a clean FDR. I didn't run it down to nothing but was losing a percentage point every 3 minutes or so. I have since added my apps back because, if my phone is going to be plugged in all the time, I feel I should at least get some use out of it. I have since added a battery management app (Battery Doctor) and this has given me back some time when the phone's screen goes off - I am still at about 4 hours while using it for browsing or listening to music, but now if the screen sleeps the Battery Doctor shuts down most everything and I am up to about 9 hours normal (not heavy) use. This is down from about 20 hours pre-kit kat under similar use conditions.
So I saw this... http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/March2014/android-kitkat-4-4-2-battery-drain-confirmed.html
I'll be darned! I did have Skype installed but just uninstalled it. My battery was depleting at a rate of about 15% per hour and I did notice that the Note was getting hot. In fact, since I unplugged it 20 minutes ago it dropped to 94% without any use. Well...we'll see how this goes. Thanks for the info!!
I don't have skype on my phone. Took it off a long time ago because I use the google hangout....and my phone is still not running properly.
My alarm on my phone no longer works, I set it and nothing happens! This was a surprise to me when I had woke up late for work and had to rush to get there on time!
I did a factory rest and it did NOT make a difference, it's still draining the battery and I know for a fact it's because of the 'upgrade'.
I looks like it's going to send out put never does. I am not receiving text messages correctly also! I have to restart myp phone to receive them!
I've been having problems with my phone for over a week now since this upgrade. I read online that the KitKat software has a ton of bugs in it and people have had nothing but problems with their phones since the update.
I'm to the point that I want a new phone! This is ridiculous!
so why did they push out another upgrade to Verizon if they know that there were issues in MARCH?
Yeah I didnt buy the whole uninstall skype thing either, but there IS official recognition that 4.4.2 has a battery drain issue.. as much as Verizon retards on here won't admit to without their "safe mode/re-seat SIM/wipe cache partition/hard reset" nonsense they keep pasting in here like automatons...
In my case it seems that Skype was the culprit. Battery life seems to be back to normal since uninstalling Skype this morning. Thank you droidrazrmaxxhd!
Doesn't Microsoft own Skype? (Would I be the first to insinuate a conspiracy?)
I don't have Skype istalled on my phone. My battery life is terrible, and the phone over heats whenever it's used.
No skype on my phone. I went into settings -> Application Manager -> at top of the screen swiped over to "all" -> scrolled down to where skype would be in the alphabetical listing -> no Skype.
Phone loses 4% battery life immediately after the power cord is pulled. Loses 15% within 30 minutes. I have auto rotate issues, text flags that are wrong, text screen, won't respond unless you open and close it, lock screen time wrong, response time issues, and others. What a freakin' fiasco!
This update is the mother of all screw ups.
I too have the same problem with draining the battery since the update. My son has the same problem too.
I now see a massive amount of Google Play Services, Android System, Android OS taking battery power whereas before KitKat, I saw very little. So much for the standby and talk time and etc that the phone originally had.. they really screwed the pooch with this update.
My husband and I had horrid battery life after the update. I called verizon and got rid of the little green guy android, turned off power saving mode and the avg security (which I may put back so I can find the phone not just have it disabled as Verizon can do). My battery on Samsung Galaxy II is back to 12-14 hours
droidrazrmaxxhd We know it's very important to have a functioning device especially after a software update. We apologize that you have been experiening issues with battery use and want to help get this resolved. The apps you mentioned are necessary for the phone to function. Do you have any 3rd party apps running in the background that you can close? Are wifi,gps and bluetooth constantly enabled? Sheritah_vzwFollow us on Twitter@VZWSupport
Nothing is installed that is any different than before the KitKat update. Your move, useless Verizon "Support"...
